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Lion sleeps tonight in familiar Snell Isle lair

The homeowners group will study more secure ways of mounting neighborhood statues.

By JON WILSON
Published August 21, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - The Snell Isle lion statue is back home, reclining peacefully after its recent late-night activity.

Pried off its pedestal and spirited away about 10 days ago, the neighborhood symbol - one among many animal sculptures in the neighborhood - reappeared late Wednesday or early Thursday.

A utility crew spied it about 7 a.m. Thursday, said Barbara Heck, president of the Snell Isle Property Owners Association.

Parties unknown stole it; parties unknown returned it. The statue was dropped within a few feet of its usual spot at the intersection of Snell Isle and Palmera boulevards NE. Art Stone, a statuary company, remounted the lion Friday.

The theft, considered a third-degree felony, is thought to be the first involving the neighborhood's concrete bestiary, although 38 panthers, 37 lions and five griffins have been subjected to various degrees of vandalism through the years.

Some of the animals are 1920s-era originals brought by developer C. Perry Snell, a major figure in St. Petersburg history and the man for whom the island in northeast St. Petersburg is named. Other statues are replicas.

Whether originals or copies, the statues are significant both as Snell Isle icons and as elements of the city's development.

The neighborhood is going to do what it can to prevent future heists.

The property owners group will seek a grant that would finance a method to more firmly attach the statues to their pedestals, Heck said. It also hopes to devise a method to identify each statue so it could be traced if stolen.

[Last modified August 21, 2005, 00:50:20]